PJB-2024-2
Microsatellite loci for endangered mountain plant: transfer from tetraploid to diploid species in subgenus Pulsatilla (Ranunculaceae)
Kateryna Lipińska
Abstract
Mountain plants adapted to specific environments are increasingly threatened by global warming. A major concern is forced altitudinal shift, habitat fragmentation, disruption of plant-pollinator interactions, or challenges from competitors and invasive species. Numerous studies shed light on these complex dynamics and highlight the need for immediate conservation action, with maintaining the greatest possible genetic diversity in populations as one of the main goals. One such species threatened by climate change that is on the IUCN World Red List is the spring pasqueflower Pulsatilla vernalis (L.) Mill (Ranunculaceae). Our study describes recent advances and applications of nuclear microsatellite markers in the Pulsatilla subgenus, which includes both diploid and tetraploid species. To date, few studies have been conducted on the genetic structure of P. vernalis populations, and no specific markers have been developed for this purpose. In the present study, we attempted to amplify microsatellite loci for diploid Pulsatilla vernalis using a cross-species procedure originally developed for tetraploid Pulsatilla vulgaris. Using this procedure, ten polymorphic markers were successfully amplified in P. vernalis. The selected loci were tested on samples collected from relict lowland populations that are nearly extinct in Central Europe. Analysis of 82 individuals from three Polish lowland populations revealed that these markers are highly polymorphic, with two to 13 alleles per locus and observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.037 to 0.654 (except for two monomorphic loci). FIS coefficient values were not statistically significant for any of the loci (P > 0.05) and ranged from -0.200 to 0.696. We tested how informative cross-amplified loci are for distinguishing individuals and which loci deviate from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. We conclude that the microsatellite markers tested in this study can be successfully used for population genetic studies of P. vernalis.
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